She Helped a Homeless Stranger… Not Knowing He Was a Billionaire in Disguise
Chapter 9
Union Station was crowded that evening.
Nathaniel and Olivia arrived separately.
Security watched from a distance.
Jonathan waited near the old clock.
He looked exhausted.
“I didn’t know if you’d come.”
Nathaniel approached.
“Why did you steal from me?”
Jonathan laughed bitterly.
“You still think this is about money?”
“Forty-eight million dollars says otherwise.”
Jonathan looked at Olivia.
“She knows?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’re all in trouble.”
Jonathan handed Nathaniel a folder.
“Read it.”
Nathaniel opened it.
Inside were bank records.
But the accounts weren’t Jonathan’s.
They belonged to Victor Cross.
Nathaniel stared.
“What’s this?”
“Your father didn’t disappear.”
“He told me to stop investigating.”
“Because he’s scared.”
“Of whom?”
Jonathan looked around.
“The architect.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“Who is it?”
Jonathan lowered his voice.
“Your father’s old business partner.”
Nathaniel frowned.
“Thomas Avery?”
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.”
He gave them a name.
Richard Sloan.
Nathaniel knew him.
Chairman of the Cross Meridian Foundation.
The man who had publicly mourned Victor Cross.
The man who had helped Nathaniel transition into leadership.
The man Nathaniel had trusted.
Olivia looked at him.
“He’s the architect.”
Jonathan nodded.
“He built the network.”
“Why?”
“Because your father found out.”
Jonathan explained.
Richard had created shell companies across several states.
He used Cross Meridian’s reputation to move money.
When Victor discovered the scheme, he tried to expose it.
Richard threatened the family.
Victor staged his death.
Nathaniel’s mother disappeared.
Jonathan became involved.
But eventually, Jonathan joined Richard.
“Why?”
Jonathan looked ashamed.
“Because he threatened my daughter.”
Nathaniel went still.
“You have a daughter?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Six years old.”
Richard had used her as leverage.
Jonathan had been forced to steal money and cover transactions.
“I wanted to stop.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t.”
Nathaniel stared at him.
Then asked:
“Where is Richard now?”
“He’s going to meet someone tonight.”
“Who?”
Jonathan looked at Olivia.
“Her.”
Olivia’s heart stopped.
“Me?”
“Richard knows your father left the ledger with you.”
“I don’t have it.”
Jonathan smiled sadly.
“He thinks you do.”
A car approached.
Jonathan stepped back.
“Go.”
Nathaniel grabbed his arm.
“Where?”
“Get out of the station.”
A gunshot rang out.
Jonathan fell.
Olivia screamed.
Nathaniel caught him.
Security rushed toward them.
Jonathan was bleeding from the shoulder.
“He’s here.”
“Who?”
Jonathan struggled to speak.
“Richard.”
Nathaniel looked across the station.
A man in a dark coat disappeared into the crowd.
Olivia followed his gaze.
Then she noticed something.
Richard wasn’t running.
He was walking calmly.
As if he knew nobody could stop him.
Nathaniel called emergency services.
Jonathan grabbed his sleeve.
“Listen.”
“What?”
“The ledger isn’t a book.”
Nathaniel frowned.
“What?”
Jonathan whispered:
“Your father hid it in something nobody would ever search.”
Then he lost consciousness.
Olivia looked at Nathaniel.
“What does that mean?”
Nathaniel stared at the crowd.
Then he remembered something.
His father had always given him an old pocket watch.
He had carried it since childhood.
It had stopped working years ago.
Nathaniel reached into his pocket.
He opened it.
Behind the clock face was a tiny compartment.
Inside was a microfilm strip.
Olivia stared.
“The ledger.”
Nathaniel nodded.
Then his phone rang.
Richard Sloan’s voice came through.
“You finally found it.”
Nathaniel froze.
Richard laughed.
“Now bring it to me.”
